Cambridge needs new Bus champion

4 January 2008

Bus passengers in Cambridge could get a new national champion to represent their interests, following proposals launched by the Government. Transport Minister Rosie Winterton has launched a consultation on how this can best be achieved, with options including a new stand-alone body, or giving new powers to existing organisations.

Cambridge Labour Parliamentary Spokesperson Daniel Zeichner says that a national voice for bus-users is long overdue: "Cambridge bus operator Stagecoach has a virtual monopoly over local services, and it is clear to me that local people feel they have little control over the decisions the bus company makes. A national bus passenger champion would begin to give bus passengers a proper voice, at a time when we know that increasing bus usage is essential to tackle Cambridge's growing traffic problems."

Mr Zeichner is a member of the Labour Party's Policy Commission on Transport and pressed ministers for inclusion for a bus champion in Labour's 2005 manifesto.

Note: The paper "Options for strengthening bus passenger representation" is published by the Department for Transport and can be found at: www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/buspassenger